


Skull launch

by purplefox



Series: The Daybreakers 2020 [3]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Daybreakers 2020, Gen, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-23 10:03:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23009761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplefox/pseuds/purplefox
Summary: Some people had a shitty past but that didn't mean it was going to stay that way. Thanks to his team Ryuji has a reason to smile and fight.Week one: Origins-Ryuji
Series: The Daybreakers 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652734
Kudos: 12





	Skull launch

He didn’t really think that much about his childhood. Mostly because Ryuji wanted to forget the majority of it. He wasn’t ashamed of what he had gone through or how he lived. He met a lot of people that had guided him to the person he could be today and he was thankful for meeting them.

Everyone that had been in his apartment. The nice old ladies who were too nosy but at the same time so nice. They were vulnerable is ways that had made his heart ache back then and Ryuji didn’t mind spending time with them or carrying their bags or helping clean. Not his favourite things to do but he saw the side of their struggle.

He got it. Thanks to them and his mom he really got the other side of things. It felt as though kids always drew the short end of the straw when dealing with adults but… the world sucked and so did most adults. Look at his piece of crap Dad. Ryuji never wanted to see any part of him again.

He had made him mom suffer so much. Thanks to him Ryuji forever would be terrified of making her upset and hurt. The way she had been about the whole Kamoshida thing? When it had been Ryuji’s fault for popping off? That had hurt almost as much as getting his leg broken had been.

He didn’t think he was ever going to forgive that man for making his mother feel that way. Sometimes it felt as though he would never be able to forgive himself either. As the lady down two floors as his old place liked to say. Sometimes it was easier to let the mirror go dusty than give yourself a hand up. some people were just harder on themselves.

All of that had happened to him from so early and all he ever had was running. No matter what happened once he started to run everything melted away. It was like running away from everything that hurt him or scared him. Almost like that except that he had to stop sometimes and no matter what Ryuji would never have the stamina to keep running forever.

He had come a long way. From the tired angry kid he had been in middle school to finding Akira and learning everything they could about the metaverse. He hadn’t even known he had given up on himself until the time had come to prove himself. it was actually sort of amazing and he was proud of himself.

What would he have become if he hadn’t met Akira? met Morgana and connected with Ann again? What would he and the rest of them have learned if they hadn’t run across Yusuke?

The phantom thieves had saved him. Not just what they did but the people he spent time with. Yusuke, Ann, Akira and Morgana. Because of them he got to smile a little more and he got to look at the world and adults in it a little differently. They were making a difference and they were helping people and themselves.

Not that he would tell them the sappy shit that came across his thoughts. No way in hell but- they made things easier for him. It was nice to hang out with his mom when they did laundry and talk about Ann or Akira. Talk about Yusuke and Morgana and see the lights come on in his mom’s eyes.

His mom remembered Ann sort of. She was sort of hard to ignore or miss but eventually he would have to introduce Akira to his mom. Yusuke too his mom liked pretty boys. Yeah and Morgana because his mom liked cats. The whole group maybe because they had made it easier for him to make his mom smile.

X

“You miss it?” Akira’s quiet voice took Ryuji by surprise. It had been nice to goof off next to him on the roof as they watched practice. Ryuji had his own thoughts on the rest of them. There was something nice about watching P.E. from above. Better than having to be doing P.E. in the gym. No matter how hard you scrubbed some things would remain.

The gym would always smell like the gym and all the pretty girls playing volleyball or netball could not change the lingering scent. The pretty girls made it easier to ignore but Ryuji had said and he would continue to say that the gym was its own hell. He preferred the smell of outdoors.

“Miss…” Ryuji trailed off as he eyed Akira. He was always so put together never a button out of place. He looked like the perfect student but the person who was Joker lived on in his gaze. You just had to look really well to find him. “Miss P.E.? he laughed before he caught the glance Akira gave him. “Running? Man yeah I do.” He leaned over the wall to watch the girls before he shook his head. “Being in the club? Yeah I miss it a bit but it isn’t as if I’ve stopped running. We train don’t we?”

“It’s not the same. It’s not them.” Akira laughed as Morgana stretched on his lap. “You’ve been working hard on their behalf when others would say that they wouldn’t deserve it. It’s rather…” Akira smiled. “You.”

“Don’t be cheesy now man.” Ryuji laughed before he sat back. He drew up his lap and hugged it to himself. “Those guys… they might hate me but that doesn’t mean that whatever they have going on should be dismissed. They loved the team and they love running. Dickheads like Kamoshida shouldn’t get in their way of doing something amazing.” He caught Akira’s grin and rolled his eyes. “Dude without you I wouldn’t be able to help… might not have been in the right head space to offer the right help.” And he could admit that now.

“Considering how we met and the things that you did?” Akira shrugged. “I’m going to bet on you always doing the right thing. I believe in you Ryuji. Even when you aren’t believing in yourself.” His phone beeped and Ryuji watched a series of emotions cross Akira’s face as he checked it before he settled on amusement. “The things we do… I’m glad you have my back.”

“Cheesy man.” Ryuji laughed before he put his hands behind his back. “And you’re different to us you know?” He didn’t need Morgana to tell him that Akira was a little different from them. “I’m glad to back you up you know I have this.” A grin slid across his face. “Some training… some running from shadows and beating scummy adult’s ass. I got your back.”

“And I’m glad for it.” Akira chuckled before he sighed. “It’s a nice day… never thought I would have it like this when I came here. Meeting you… and everyone else.” Akira tapped his fingers on the desk he sat on. “You changed me… and I’d like to think that this and me changed you too.”

“You did. Meeting us set this whole thing off and when I think about what we are? What we could become? I’m real glad about yapping my mouth off that morning.” Ryuji laughed. “Really glad.”

X

“Never thought this would be what I would be doing with my evenings as a high schooler.” Ann adjusted her gloves before she stretched. “Oh well… this is a lot more fun.”

“Yeah it really is.” Ryuji tucked away the supplies that Akira had given them the moment they had met up. “Man how much does Joker think we can carry before this lugs us down? I mean it’s necessary.” He muttered as he folded the fan under his shirt. “I feel like the shadows are laughing at us.”

“It’s not how you look it’s what you do with the look.” Ann attached a small bead to her mask and Ryuji shook his head. “Shut up Skull it helps with balance.”

“I said nothing.” Ryuji pointed out as he turned to watch Yusuke. Yusuke had three bracelets and he was attaching them to his legs. “The shadows are going to laugh at us.”

“Let them laugh.” Yusuke attached a simple paper to the hilt of his sword. “It is the last thing they will ever do.”

“Exactly Fox.” Akira got up from where he had been tying Morgana’s bandana. “But to think… a few months ago I never thought about this. Now you guys are all I can think about.” The way he grinned at them before he stared down the tunnel. “This is fun.”

“It’s good.” Ann stood next to him before she leaned on his shoulder. “This is us. We’ve seen a lot of stuff up to this point.”

“Everything we have seen and done has led us to this point.” Yusuke said quietly. “And from this point we can only improve.”

“Can’t put it any better.” Ryuji patted his pipe before he joined them at the top of the stairs. “We’re ready.” They all had their skeletons but it was not exactly sunshine from this point on. It was certainly a better view. They saved each other. He seriously had to bring them home when they caught a break. Ryuji narrowed his eyes at the shadows he could see lurking. If they caught a break that was. Still, he was sure they could handle it.


End file.
